Confused: Which arpeggio with which chord?

[OldSchoolFlats]

Is there a "cheat-sheet" that tells which arpeggio to play over which chord? I'm trying to figure-out where to spend my practice-time, but I'm struggling a bit.

I (sort-of) know about modes, but want to focus on the (most important?) arpeggios at this time. Later, I'll worry more about the scales/modes and pentatonics.

 

[kesslari]

It's pretty straightforward.
Maj7 arpeggio over Maj7 chord.
Min7 arpeggio over Min7 chord.
Dominant arpeggio over Dominant chord.
etc.

For plain "major" and "minor" chords just leave off the 7th.

 

[phillipkregg]

You can think of an arpeggio as the exact same thing as the chord - except played one note at a time.

There are “cheat sheets”, but if you know the notes of the chord, then you know the arpeggio.

If you don’t know the notes of the chord, then skip the cheat sheets and learn that. It is the foundation of everything musical you’ll ever do.

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

It's pretty straightforward.
Maj7 arpeggio over Maj7 chord.
Min7 arpeggio over Min7 chord.
Dominant arpeggio over Dominant chord.
etc.

For plain "major" and "minor" chords just leave off the 7th.

What about suspended, diminished, and other types of chords?

 

[Wasnex]

What about suspended, diminished, and other types of chords?

Hopefully this will clear it up for you.

I Googled the meaning of arpeggio: "The notes of a chord played in succession, either ascending or descending."

 

[bass12]

What about suspended, diminished, and other types of chords?

It sounds as if what you are missing is the knowledge of actual chord tones. If you can spell out the chord then you will know which notes to play. There are no doubt several online sources where you can find a chord “spelling” sheet. If not then let me know and I can take a photo of one for you. Another good resource is the iReal Pro app which can tell you the spelling of the chords in a given chart as well as appropriate scales.

 

[bass12]

Just found this online:

 

[Malcolm35]

What about suspended, diminished, and other types of chords?

They will come later. Right now be happy with major and minor. First things first.

 

[Zooberwerx]

One of the better texts in my library...also addresses inversions:

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Is there a "cheat-sheet" that tells which arpeggio to play over which chord? I'm trying to figure-out where to spend my practice-time, but I'm struggling a bit.

I (sort-of) know about modes, but want to focus on the (most important?) arpeggios at this time. Later, I'll worry more about the scales/modes and pentatonics.

It's pretty self explanatory actually. An arpeggio is just a chord played with single notes. You want to play an arpeggio over a specific chord, play that specific arpeggio. C, play C major. Dm, play D minor. So on, and so forth.

The notes of the chord being played, are the notes you play. Pretty straight forward.

 

[brianrost]

You need to learn the arpeggios played with any note on the bottom. So for C major, C E G, E G C, G C E.

Tip: When practicing arpeggios, scales, etc. say the note names or better yet SING them as you play them. Singing will get the sound into your ears.

 

[GreggBummer]

Tip: When practicing arpeggios, scales, etc. say the note names or better yet SING them as you play them. Singing will get the sound into your ears.

This is excellent advice. Singing the notes while playing them helps a lot.

 

[MVE]

You really need to KNOW the major scale first.

Each “chord” is defined by the notes either being sharp or flat from the major scale. (Ie 1, b3, 5 for a minor tiad; 1, b3, b5 for a diminished triad; 1, 3, 5, b7 for a dominant, etc…)

You need to learn the major scale along with chords played arpeggiated all together for it to make logical sense.

 

[1958Bassman]

And always, ALWAYS know where the 1 of the chord is.

 

[FatStringer52]

You're going down that theory rabbit hole which, IMHO, is a good thing. Might I suggest you take a step backwards. The very first thing you really need to understand is intervals. These videos will get you there . . .

 

[FatStringer52]

After you have a firm grasp on the concept of intervals, these videos will get you thoroughly immersed in triad and seventh chord arpeggios . . .

 

[FatStringer52]

And if you really want to do a deep dive into theory, Mark has an extensive library dedicated specifically to music theory for the bass guitar . . .

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLatsInsznGD0dtXAcpvH02QTiFmrF05Tg

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

AWESOME responses y'all: thanks!!

 

[Flamingo21]

Good luck with it, then.

 

[devnulljp]

What about suspended, diminished, and other types of chords?

A sus chord has no 3rd and a perf 4th (or a 2nd for a sus2 chord)
Diminished triad has a b3 and a b5 -- stacked minor 3rds
half diminished adds a b7
full diminished adds a double flat 7 (which is the same as a 6th)